HA Jung-woo, born KIM Sung-hoon in 1978, has always dreamed of becoming an actor to follow in the footsteps of his father KIM Yong-gun, an actor best known for his TV works. While majoring in dramatic arts at Chung-Ang University, he gained experience playing in dozens of performances such as “Carmen”, “Othello”, and “The Glass Menagerie”. Having made a first screen appearance in 2002 in the sitcom <Honest Living>, he was cast in his first film role later th... expand

HA Jung-woo, born KIM Sung-hoon in 1978, has always dreamed of becoming an actor to follow in the footsteps of his father KIM Yong-gun, an actor best known for his TV works. While majoring in dramatic arts at Chung-Ang University, he gained experience playing in dozens of performances such as “Carmen”, “Othello”, and “The Glass Menagerie”. Having made a first screen appearance in 2002 in the sitcom <Honest Living>, he was cast in his first film role later that year for <Madeleine> (2002). After playing supporting roles in <Mr. Gam’s Victory> (2004) and <She’s on Duty> (2005), he first caught the attention of the public with his portrayal of a witty bodyguard in TV series <Lovers in Prague> (2005) and gained further recognition for the maturity of acting skills he displayed in YOON Jong-bin’s debut film <The Unforgiven> (2005), which led him to be named Best New Actor by the Korean Association of Film Critics. This allowed him to diversify his roles in the following years, playing a nine-tailed fox from the Korean myths trying to lure human victims in the musical comedy <The Fox Family> (2006) as well as a young man who, unbeknownst to him, is being seduced again by his ex-girlfriend after she had plastic surgery in arthouse film <Time> (2006), directed by KIM Ki-duk. In 2008, he joined the ranks of Korea’s most promising actors after starring in NA Hong-jin’s hit debut <The Chaser> as a psychopath serial killer, receiving wide acclaim from critics and audiences alike. He confirmed his pedigree later that year with another highly praised performance as a cocky yet somewhat charming womanizer in LEE Yoon-ki’s <My Dear Enemy>. Since then, almost all of the films in which he appeared have become hits. Among them, sports comedy <Take Off> (2009) holds a special significance as it gave him the opportunity to share the screen with his father. Having established a good relationship with all the directors he worked with, he has often been cast again for their next projects. Most notably, he starred in the three movies that YOON Jong-bin directed after <The Unforgiven>, which include <Nameless Gangster : Rules of the Time> (2011) and <KUNDO : Age of the Rampant> (2013). He was also reunited with NA Hong-jin for <The Yellow Sea> (2010), this time playing the protagonist, an ethnic Korean from China compelled to kill a businessman in Korea. Currently one of the busiest working actors in the Korean film industry, in 2011 he starred in courtroom drama <The Client> as well as <Love Fiction> and <Nameless Gangster>. He was next seen in the large-scale spy thriller <The Berlin File> (2012) by RYU Seung-wan and as an anchorman in <The Terror Live> (2013). In addition, 2013 was also the year he released his directorial debut <Fasten Your Seatbelt> (2013). He racked up just one credit in 2014, as one of the leads in the period action romp <Kundo: Age of the Rampant> (2013) alongside GANG Dong-won. He began 2015 with his second directing gig, the period drama <Chronicle of a Blood Merchant> (2014), which he also starred in, adapted from a famous Chinese novel by YU Hua. Later that year, he was seen in the ensemble cast of CHOI Dong-hoon’s thriller <Assassination> (2015). He was also cast in PARK Chan-wook’s award-winning thriller <The Handmaiden> (2016), and proved once again his box office power by pulling in 7.2 million viewers with his star vehicle <Tunnel> (2016). In 2017, he starred in two of the biggest films released that year, accumulating 20 million viewers between <Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds> and <1987: When the Day Comes>. close

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During a recent fan meeting, superstar HA Jung-woo revealed who would be joining him in the upcoming period sports drama Boston 1947. Young star IM Si-wan and character actor BAE Sung-woo appear set to star alongside HA in the KANG Je-kyu-directed marathon drama. Set during the first international marathon competition to take place after World War II, Boston 1947 will feature HA as Korea’s maratho...

In a recent interview with Korean news outlet Star News, director KIM Yong-hwa revealed that plans were moving ahead on a third and fourth installment in the smash hit Along with the Gods franchise. The director explained that DOH Kyung-soo has been confirmed to appear in the third installment and that the titles will be produced simultaneously in 2021. DOH Kyung-soo, a member of the popular music...

End-of-year action-thriller Take Point opened in Taiwan on December 28 across 85 screens, the largest release ever accorded to a Korean film in the market. This means that the explosive Korean blockbuster from director KIM Byung-woo, with HA Jung-woo in the lead, will be screening at 90% of the multiplexes in the island nation. HA features as the leader of an elite mercenary force hired by the CIA...

The Korean Film Council (Chairman - KIM Sae-hoon) held its annual Cannes Film Festival event, the Korean Film Night on Sunday the 15th, at the Plage Royale on the Croisette. With five films at the Cannes Film Festival this year, including three high-profile features in official selection, Korean cinema has been drawing a lot of buzz on the Croisette this year, and the KOFIC night became a hot even...

A year of mixed fortunes at the box office ended on a down note as several titles failed to break through during a weak end-of-year period. Local titles struggled badly with only a 39% market share (compared to 90% this time last year) while admissions were down almost 10% from last week to 2.77 million, which was a far cry from the 4.6 million admissions weekend that closed out 2017. Leading the ...

With a few presumed hits coming up short and lower-than-usual attendance at some points of the year, particularly early summer, a lot was banking on December to pick up the slack and close the year on a high note. The end-of-year period (late December and early January) is one of the four busiest release windows in Korea, along with Lunar New Year, High Summer (late July/early August) and Chuseok,...

Box Office Report of 2017 The Korean film market reached new all-time benchmarks for income and admissions in 2017 after a strong December rally. Yet the real story behind the numbers was which unexpected films got audiences the most excited while several seemingly surefire hits stumbled out of the gate.With 219.87 million tickets sold when all was said and done, 2017 saw the Korean exhibition mar...